Automated Generation of Personalized Mail

ABSTRACT

An embodiment may involve receiving input information related to an offered product or service, two or more layouts of a print advertisement for the offered product or service, demographics of potential buyers of the offered product or service, and online behavior of the potential buyers. The information may be normalized into a predefined schema for a machine-learning-based recommendation engine operated by a computing device. The embodiment may further involve determining respective selections of the two or more layouts for the potential buyers. The machine-learning-based recommendation engine may select a layout for a potential buyer based on the offered product or service, content and organization of the layout, demographics of the potential buyer, and online behavior of the potential buyer. The embodiment may also involve transmitting, to a printing system, one or more output files representing the offered product or service, the layout, and the potential buyer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/386,654, filed Dec. 21, 2016, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Direct mail consists of sending printed advertisements with associatedoffers to potential buyers in order to increase sales for particularproducts. The parties involved may include an advertiser, who providesproposed transactions for specified products and services, anadvertising service that compiles that data and develops advertisement(ad) copy containing the proposed transactions, a printing system thatreceives and prints the ads, and a potential buyer who receives theprint ads at a residence or place of business.

Traditional direct mail systems are effective when an advertiser knowsthat a particular buyer has used direct mail to purchase products in thepast. Nevertheless, traditional direct mail systems lack otherinformation regarding potential buyers to reach these potential buyersmore effectively.

SUMMARY

The embodiments herein involve, but are not limited to, ways in whichdirect mail advertisements can be personalized so that an advertiser canincrease the effectiveness of direct mail advertising campaigns. Inparticular, the computer implementations described hereafter may involvereceiving information from an advertiser, normalizing the information,determining a recommendation based on the information, and transmittingthe recommendation to a printing system.

For instance, an advertiser may want to begin a personalized direct mailcampaign for sporting goods. The advertiser may send information to anadvertising service. This information may include an offered product orservice, potential buyers, a proposed transaction, and/or a message,among other possibilities. The advertising service may process thisinformation and, using a machine-based-learning recommendation engine,determine a recommendation encompassing a particular product or service,proposed transaction, and message for each potential buyer. Theadvertising service may then send a representation of the recommendationto a printing service for inclusion in printed direct mailadvertisements, mailed to the potential buyers. The embodimentsdescribed herein help advertisers increase the effectiveness of directmail advertisements through personalization.

A first example embodiment may involve receiving input informationrelated to an offered product or service, two or more layouts of a printadvertisement for the offered product or service, demographics ofpotential buyers of the offered product or service, and online behaviorof the potential buyers. This information may be normalized into apredefined schema for a machine-learning-based recommendation engineoperated by a computing device. The first example embodiment may furtherinvolve determining, by the machine-learning-based recommendationengine, respective selections of the two or more layouts for thepotential buyers. The machine-learning-based recommendation engine mayselect a particular layout for a particular potential buyer based on theoffered product or service, content and organization of the particularlayout, demographics of the particular potential buyer, and onlinebehavior of the particular potential buyer.

The first example embodiment may also involve transmitting, to aprinting system, one or more output files representing the offeredproduct or service, the particular layout, and the particular potentialbuyer. The reception of the one or more output files by the printingsystem may cause the printing system to print a mailable advertisementconforming to the particular layout, and the mailable advertisement mayinclude a representation of the offered product or service.

In a second example embodiment, an article of manufacture may include anon-transitory computer-readable medium, having stored thereon programinstructions that, upon execution by a computing device, cause thecomputing device to perform operations in accordance with the firstexample embodiment.

In a third example embodiment, a computing device may include at leastone processor, as well as data storage and program instructions. Theprogram instructions may be stored in the data storage, and uponexecution by the at least one processor, cause the computing device toperform operations in accordance with the first example embodiment.

These as well as other embodiments, aspects, advantages, andalternatives will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artby reading the following detailed description, with reference whereappropriate to the accompanying drawings. Further, this summary andother descriptions and figures provided herein are intended toillustrate embodiments by way of example only and, as such, thatnumerous variations are possible. For instance, structural elements andprocess steps can be rearranged, combined, distributed, eliminated, orotherwise changed, while remaining within the scope of the embodimentsas claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a high-level flow chart of a personalized direct mail system,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a high-level depiction of a client-server computing system,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic drawing of a computing device, accordingto an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic drawing of a networked server cluster,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 depicts a personalized direct mail system, according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart for selecting a machine learning algorithm,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 7 depicts a data model for communicating to a printing system,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 8A depicts a front side of a personalized direct mail ad, accordingto an example embodiment.

FIG. 8B depicts a back side of the personalized direct mail ad of FIG.8A, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 9 depicts a flowchart, according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example methods, devices, and systems are described herein. It should beunderstood that the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein tomean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodimentor feature described herein as being an “example” or “exemplary” is notnecessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otherembodiments or features. Other embodiments can be utilized, and otherchanges can be made, without departing from the scope of the subjectmatter presented herein.

Thus, the example embodiments described herein are not meant to belimiting. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the presentdisclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in thefigures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designedin a wide variety of different configurations, all of which arecontemplated herein.

Further, unless context suggests otherwise, the features illustrated ineach of the figures may be used in combination with one another. Thus,the figures should be generally viewed as component aspects of one ormore overall embodiments, with the understanding that not allillustrated features are necessary for each embodiment.

Additionally, any enumeration of elements, blocks, or steps in thisspecification or the claims is for purposes of clarity. Thus, suchenumeration should not be interpreted to require or imply that theseelements, blocks, or steps adhere to a particular arrangement or arecarried out in a particular order.

1. OVERVIEW

As noted above, personalized direct mail may facilitate the sending oftargeted ads to potential buyers. FIG. 1 depicts a high-level flow chartof a personalized direct mail system, according to an exampleembodiment. An advertiser 100 (or client) may desire to increase theeffectiveness of a direct mail advertising campaign. For example, it ispossible the advertiser 100's current direct mail campaigns have a lowsuccess rate (this may be called a “conversion rate”). This lowconversion rate may be due to the use of a single ad sent to allpotential buyers. The advertiser 100 may want to send different ads todifferent demographics. However, the advertiser 100 may encounter theproblem of selecting ads that might be compelling for each potentialbuyer.

In some cases, the advertiser 100 may hire an advertising service 110 tocreate the ad and/or choose the potential buyers. This way, theadvertiser 100 does not have to create the ad and select the mostappropriate ad for each potential buyer. Also, the advertising service110 may have additional information on potential buyers. The advertiser100 may send the advertising service 110 information, such as inputs102, layouts 104, demographics 106, and online behavior 108.

Inputs 102 may include offered products or services, proposedtransactions for those products or services, or data relating toparticular buyers' transaction histories. In one example, an advertisermay want to start a direct mail advertising campaign to sell sportinggoods. In this case, inputs 102 may include various products, such asbaseball cleats, soccer balls, or golf clubs, various proposedtransactions, such as 20% off all sporting goods or free shipping on allorders, and various transaction histories, such as whether a particularbuyer has purchased sporting goods in the past and what sporting goodswere purchased at what price. In another example, the advertiser maywant to start a direct mail advertising campaign to advertise hispainting service. In this case, inputs 102 may include various paintingjobs, such as house painting, paint removal, and interior detailing,various proposed transactions such as 10% off with a referral or 15% offif requesting two or more jobs. Other examples may exist.

Layouts 104 may include two or more layouts or templates of a printadvertisement relating to inputs 102. For example, the advertiser maywant to start a direct mail campaign for designer clothes. In this case,the advertiser 100 may provide the advertising service 110 with twolayouts: a layout for women and a layout for men. Layouts 104 may havedifferent designs based on what the advertiser believes will be moreattractive to members of each gender.

Demographics 106 may include age, gender, and/or geographic location ofpotential buyers. For example, a potential buyer may be middle-aged,male, and live in the Midwest. In another example, a potential buyer maybe an adolescent, female, and live in the Southeast. These demographics106 may be particularly useful to the advertising service 110 by helpingthe advertising service 110 generate recommendations for offeredproducts or services based on age, gender, and/or regional preferences.

Online behavior 108 may include information relating to a potentialbuyer's actions taken when presented with the advertiser's online ads.For example, an advertiser may be conducting an online advertisingcampaign. Online behavior 108 may relate to what actions potentialbuyers take when faced with an ad while browsing the Internet. In thiscase, online behavior 108 may be a selection action, such as a potentialbuyer clicking on an ad that was displayed to them. In another example,online behavior 108 may be an action such as clicking on a web page fora product multiple times before purchasing that product. Other examplesand actions exist.

The advertising service 110 may receive this information from theadvertiser 100, or the advertising service 110 may already have accessto this information. For instance, if the advertising service 110 isalready conducting an online advertising campaign for the advertiser100, the advertising service 110 may have access to particular potentialbuyers' online behavior 108.

The advertising service 110 may normalize the information into apreferred data model. This may include receiving the advertiser 100'sdata in the advertiser 100's preferred format and converting or mappingthat data to the advertising service 110's preferred format. Theadvertising service 110 may then apply machine learning algorithms toselect particular advertisements for buyers. The machine learningalgorithms may include content clustering, generalized additive models,gradient boosting machine, regression, alternating least squares, and/ork-means clustering. Other algorithms and methods are possible.

The advertising service 110 may use a specific format for sending theselected ads to the printing system 112. This format may include aseries of files, which include information about the personalized adsfor particular buyers. The printing system 112 may receive these filesand populate the direct mail ads based on these files.

The printing system 112 may send the advertising service response filesafter transmission of the advertising service's files or on a setschedule, such as daily, weekly, or monthly. After populating the ad,the printing system 112 may print the ad for mailing to the potentialbuyer. For example, the printing system 112 may add a potential buyer'saddress, a message to the potential buyer, information about offeredproducts and services, a proposed transaction for the potential buyer,and postage on the ad. The ad may have an embedded machine-readable codefor use at a retail store.

The potential buyer may receive the ad via postal mail service. Afterreceiving the ad, the buyer may decide that the products and proposedtransactions are interesting and travel to an associated store. Thebuyer may purchase a product that was featured in the personalizeddirect mail ad. If the buyer brings the personalized ad, the retailstore may scan the machine-readable code on the ad. The retail store maysend this transaction information back to the advertiser 100 in order tobe incorporated into future information that is transferred from theadvertiser 100 to the advertising service 110. That is, the informationtransfer between advertiser 100, advertising service 110, and printingsystem 112 can be described as a loop, further refining the ads that theadvertising service 110 presents to the buyer.

For example, if a potential buyer is presented with an ad for shoes andpurchases the advertised shoes, then the advertiser 100 learns that itis more likely to convert that particular potential buyer with shoe adsin the future. Conversely, if the potential buyer does not make apurchase after receiving the ad, then the advertiser 100 may presumethat particular potential buyer is less likely to respond to shoe ads inthe future.

However, this information might not indicate that the particularpotential buyer is entirely disinterested in the ad. In this case, theadvertiser 100 may want to send the particular potential buyer adifferent proposed transaction, such as 20% off a particular pair ofshoes. If presenting the particular potential buyer with a proposedtransaction of 20% off still does not result in a conversion, theadvertiser 100 knows the particular potential buyer is much less likelyto purchase the advertised shoes. With this information, the advertiser100 can either target different buyers with the same ads, or change theads that are being sent to the buyers that did not make purchases.

Regardless of how they may be implemented, the embodiments herein maymake use of one or more computing devices. These computing devices mayinclude, for example, client devices under the control of users, andserver devices that directly or indirectly interact with the clientdevices. Such devices are described in the following section.

2. EXAMPLE COMPUTING DEVICES AND CLOUD-BASED COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

FIG. 2 illustrates an example communication system 200 for carrying outone or more of the embodiments described herein. Communication system200 may include computing devices. Herein, a “computing device” mayrefer to either a client device, a server device (e.g., a stand-aloneserver computer or networked cluster of server equipment), or some othertype of computational platform.

Client device 202 may be any type of device including a personalcomputer, laptop computer, a wearable computing device, a wirelesscomputing device, a head-mountable computing device, a mobile telephone,or tablet computing device, etc., that is configured to transmit data206 to and/or receive data 208 from a server device 204 in accordancewith the embodiments described herein. For example, in FIG. 2, clientdevice 202 may communicate with server device 204 via one or morewireline or wireless interfaces. In some cases, client device 202 andserver device 204 may communicate with one another via a local-areanetwork. Alternatively, client device 202 and server device 204 may eachreside within a different network, and may communicate via a wide-areanetwork, such as the Internet.

Client device 202 may include a user interface, a communicationinterface, a main processor, and data storage (e.g., memory). The datastorage may contain instructions executable by the main processor forcarrying out one or more operations relating to the data sent to, orreceived from, server device 204. The user interface of client device202 may include buttons, a touchscreen, a microphone, and/or any otherelements for receiving inputs, as well as a speaker, one or moredisplays, and/or any other elements for communicating outputs.

Server device 204 may be any entity or computing device arranged tocarry out the server operations described herein. Further, server device204 may be configured to send data 208 to and/or receive data 206 fromthe client device 202.

Data 206 and data 208 may take various forms. For example, data 206 and208 may represent packets transmitted by client device 202 or serverdevice 204, respectively, as part of one or more communication sessions.Such a communication session may include packets transmitted on asignaling plane (e.g., session setup, management, and teardownmessages), and/or packets transmitted on a media plane (e.g., text,graphics, audio, and/or video data).

Regardless of the exact architecture, the operations of client device202, server device 204, as well as any other operation associated withthe architecture of FIG. 2, can be carried out by one or more computingdevices. These computing devices may be organized in a standalonefashion, in cloud-based (networked) computing environments, or in otherarrangements.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram exemplifying a computing device300, illustrating some of the components that could be included in acomputing device arranged to operate in accordance with the embodimentsherein. Example computing device 300 could be a client device, a serverdevice, or some other type of computational platform. For purpose ofsimplicity, this specification may equate computing device 300 to aserver device from time to time. Nonetheless, the description ofcomputing device 300 could apply to any component used for the purposesdescribed herein.

In this example, computing device 300 includes a processor 302, a datastorage 304, a network interface 306, and an input/output function 308,all of which may be coupled by a system bus 310 or a similar mechanism.Processor 302 can include one or more CPUs, such as one or more generalpurpose processors and/or one or more dedicated processors (e.g.,application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signalprocessors (DSPs), network processors, etc.).

Data storage 304, in turn, may comprise volatile and/or non-volatiledata storage and can be integrated in whole or in part with processor302. Data storage 304 can hold program instructions, executable byprocessor 302, and data that may be manipulated by these instructions tocarry out the various methods, processes, or operations describedherein. Alternatively, these methods, processes, or operations can bedefined by hardware, firmware, and/or any combination of hardware,firmware and software. By way of example, the data in data storage 304may contain program instructions, perhaps stored on a non-transitory,computer-readable medium, executable by processor 302 to carry out anyof the methods, processes, or operations disclosed in this specificationor the accompanying drawings.

Network interface 306 may take the form of a wireline connection, suchas an Ethernet, Token Ring, or T-carrier connection. Network interface306 may also take the form of a wireless connection, such as IEEE 802.11(Wifi), BLUETOOTH®, or a wide-area wireless connection. However, otherforms of physical layer connections and other types of standard orproprietary communication protocols may be used over network interface306. Furthermore, network interface 306 may comprise multiple physicalinterfaces.

Input/output function 308 may facilitate user interaction with examplecomputing device 300. Input/output function 308 may comprise multipletypes of input devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, andso on. Similarly, input/output function 308 may comprise multiple typesof output devices, such as a screen, monitor, printer, or one or morelight emitting diodes (LEDs). Additionally or alternatively, examplecomputing device 300 may support remote access from another device, vianetwork interface 306 or via another interface (not shown), such as auniversal serial bus (USB) or high-definition multimedia interface(HDMI) port.

In some embodiments, one or more computing devices may be deployed in anetworked architecture. The exact physical location, connectivity, andconfiguration of the computing devices may be unknown and/or unimportantto client devices. Accordingly, the computing devices may be referred toas “cloud-based” devices that may be housed at various remote locations.

FIG. 4 depicts a cloud-based server cluster 404 in accordance with anexample embodiment. In FIG. 4, functions of a server device, such asserver device 204 (as exemplified by computing device 300) may bedistributed between server devices 406, cluster data storage 408, andcluster routers 410, all of which may be connected by local clusternetwork 412. The number of server devices, cluster data storages, andcluster routers in server cluster 404 may depend on the computingtask(s) and/or applications assigned to server cluster 404.

For example, server devices 406 can be configured to perform variouscomputing tasks of computing device 300. Thus, computing tasks can bedistributed among one or more of server devices 406. To the extent thatthese computing tasks can be performed in parallel, such a distributionof tasks may reduce the total time to complete these tasks and return aresult. For purpose of simplicity, both server cluster 404 andindividual server devices 406 may be referred to as “a server device.”This nomenclature should be understood to imply that one or moredistinct server devices, data storage devices, and cluster routers maybe involved in server device operations.

Cluster data storage 408 may be data storage arrays that include diskarray controllers configured to manage read and write access to groupsof hard disk drives. The disk array controllers, alone or in conjunctionwith server devices 406, may also be configured to manage backup orredundant copies of the data stored in cluster data storage 408 toprotect against disk drive failures or other types of failures thatprevent one or more of server devices 406 from accessing units ofcluster data storage 408.

Cluster routers 410 may include networking equipment configured toprovide internal and external communications for the server clusters.For example, cluster routers 410 may include one or morepacket-switching and/or routing devices configured to provide (i)network communications between server devices 406 and cluster datastorage 408 via cluster network 412, and/or (ii) network communicationsbetween the server cluster 404 and other devices via communication link402 to network 400.

Additionally, the configuration of cluster routers 410 can be based atleast in part on the data communication requirements of server devices406 and cluster data storage 408, the latency and throughput of thelocal cluster networks 412, the latency, throughput, and cost ofcommunication link 402, and/or other factors that may contribute to thecost, speed, fault-tolerance, resiliency, efficiency and/or other designgoals of the system architecture.

As a possible example, cluster data storage 408 may include any form ofdatabase, such as a structured query language (SQL) database. Varioustypes of data structures may store the information in such a database,including but not limited to tables, arrays, lists, trees, and tuples.Furthermore, any databases in cluster data storage 408 may be monolithicor distributed across multiple physical devices.

Server devices 406 may be configured to transmit data to and receivedata from cluster data storage 408. This transmission and retrieval maytake the form of SQL queries or other types of database queries, and theoutput of such queries, respectively. Additional text, images, video,and/or audio may be included as well. Furthermore, server devices 406may organize the received data into web page representations. Such arepresentation may take the form of a markup language, such as thehypertext markup language (HTML), the extensible markup language (XML),or some other standardized or proprietary format. Moreover, serverdevices 406 may have the capability of executing various types ofcomputerized scripting languages, such as but not limited to Perl,Python, PHP Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP), Active Server Pages (ASP),JavaScript, and so on. Computer program code written in these languagesmay facilitate the providing of web pages to client devices, as well asclient device interaction with the web pages.

3. EXAMPLE ARCHITECTURE

A. Input Information

FIG. 5 illustrates information flow for a personalized direct mailsystem, according to an example embodiment. The flow of informationstarts with an advertiser sending information to an advertising service.The advertiser may send information including content 500, proposedtransactions 502, actual transactions 504, potential buyers 506, onlinebehavior 508, and actions 510 to the advertising service. Alternatively,the advertising service may gather and hold some of this information.For instance, the advertising service may gather actual transactions504, online behavior 508, and actions 510. The advertising service mayreceive this information from the advertiser into its master schemas512, process the information through a recommendation engine 514, andthen transmit the information to a printing service through a deliveryservice 516. The delivery service may send a plurality of files to theprinting system 518.

Content 500 may include the advertiser's offered products or services.In one example, an advertiser may be selling sporting equipment. In thisexample, content 500 may include a baseball bat, golf clubs, or soccercleats. In another example, an advertiser may be selling cleaningservices. In this case, content 500 may include house cleaning, carpetsteam cleaning, or laundry services. Many examples and offered productsor services may exist.

Proposed transactions 502 may include discounts or special offers theadvertiser is willing to offer potential buyers. An example of proposedtransactions 502 may include a 20% off coupon or free shipping onparticular purchases. Another example of proposed transactions 502 mayinclude a $50 referral bonus for referring another potential buyer, or a10% off coupon if a potential buyer purchases more than one offeredproduct or service. Other examples of proposed transactions 502 mayexist, and may be simple or complex.

Actual transactions 504 may include the transaction histories ofpotential buyers. For example, actual transactions 504 may includeprevious purchases the potential buyers have made from the advertiser,or items the buyers have added to a wish-list on the advertiser'swebsite. Actual transactions 504 may also include previous purchasesfrom entities other than the advertiser, items in an online shoppingcart, phone calls ordering or inquiring about offered products orservices, or in store activity. In one example, a potential buyer mayhave purchased a baseball glove from an advertiser. In this example, theadvertiser would have a record of this transaction through apoint-of-sale, online, or equivalent system. The advertiser may thensend this transaction as part of actual transactions 504 to theadvertising service. Actual transactions 504 are particular usefulbecause they identify offered products or services a particularpotential buyer has purchased in the past, indicating a likelihood ofthe particular potential buyer purchasing them again in the future.Other examples of actual transactions 504 may exist.

Potential buyers 506 may include a list of potential buyers in theadvertiser's database. For example, potential buyers 506 may includeindividuals, groups, or organizations that have previously madepurchases from the advertiser, requested information about products fromthe advertiser, or individuals, groups, or organizations the advertiserbelieves may be a potential buyer.

Online behavior 508 may include certain metrics relating to a buyer'ssearch history and web traffic. For example, if a potential buyer visitsthe advertiser's website or related websites, the advertiser may want totarget that particular potential buyer. The advertising service mayreceive the online behavior 508 from the advertiser or from onlinetraffic tracking services, such as Google Analytics or Adobe® Analytics.

Actions 510 may include potential buyers' actions in response to theadvertiser's other advertising efforts, such as selecting an ad orrating a product (e.g., 4/5 stars). In one example, the advertiser maybe conducting a display advertising campaign. This campaign may displayads on various websites and keep track of how many potential buyers viewthe ad or click on the ad. This data may be useful to the advertisingservice in determining whether a particular buyer is interested incertain products. For instance, if the potential buyer has been shownads relating to baseball bats in the past and not responded, then theadvertiser might conclude that the potential buyer is not interested inthese products and might not want to send that person further ads forbaseball bats.

In another example, the advertiser may be running a paid searchadvertising campaign. This campaign may display ads on various searchengines in return for a fee. If a potential buyer searches for “baseballbat,” the advertiser's company may be displayed in one of the “sponsoredlinks” at the top of the search results. The advertiser may trackwhether the potential buyer clicked on the paid search link aftersearching for a keyword relating to the advertiser's offered products orservices. This information may be useful to the advertising service whendetermining the potential buyer's interest in specific products orservices. The advertising service may receive actions 510 from theadvertiser or from its own internal data if the advertising service isconducting those additional advertising campaigns for the advertiser.

The advertiser may provide content 500, proposed transactions 502,actual transactions 504, potential buyers 506, online behavior 508 andactions 510 to the advertising service in a format determined by theadvertiser. However, the advertising service may normalize the data intothe master schemas 512. This normalization may include converting theinformation from the advertiser's format to the advertising service'sformat. The normalization may also include mapping the advertiser's datato the advertising service's database. In one example, the advertisermay provide content 500, proposed transactions 502, actual transactions504, and potential buyers 506 in the form of a spreadsheet. Theadvertising service may normalize the information by converting thespreadsheet into a preferred format in the master schemas 512. Inanother example, the advertiser may provide content 500, proposedtransactions 502, actual transactions 504, and potential buyers 506 inthe form of various files or documents. The advertising service mayimport these files or documents into a spreadsheet in the master schemas512. Other methods of normalizing the information may exist.

The types of information provided by the advertiser may depend on theadvertiser's advertising goals. For example, the advertiser may desireto promote a new product. In that case, the advertiser might provideonly content 500, proposed transactions 502, and potential buyers 506,but not actual transactions 504. Specifically, the advertiser might notprovide actual transactions 504 because either the product is new andthe advertiser does not have actual transactions 504 for potentialbuyers 506, or the actual transactions 504 for potential buyers 506 arenot applicable to the new product.

After content 500, proposed transactions 502, actual transactions 504,potential buyers 506, online behavior 508 and actions 510 are receivedinto the master schemas 512, the recommendation engine 514 may retrievethe information from the master schemas 512. The recommendation engine514 may then select a machine learning algorithm that is suited for theinformation retrieved from the master schemas 512.

B. Machine Learning Algorithm Selection

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart for selecting a machine learning algorithm,according to an example embodiment. The process illustrated by FIG. 6may be carried out by a computing device, such as computing device 300,and/or a cluster of computing devices, such as server cluster 404.However, the process can be carried out by other types of devices ordevice subsystems. For example, the process could be carried out by aportable computer, such as a laptop or a tablet device. The processillustrated by FIG. 6 contains blocks 600, 602, and 604, and machinelearning recommendations 606, 608, 610, and 612.

Block 600 may involve determining whether there are actions 510 for anyof the advertiser's content 500. This step may involve analyzing thedata in the master schemas 512 to determine that, for any products incontent 500, there is action 510 data present. If action data is presentfor any products in content 500, the recommendation engine 514 maycontinue to block 602. However, if action data is not present for any ofthe products in content 500, the recommendation engine 514 may make amachine learning recommendation 606. An example of when action datamight not be present for any products would be for print ads, such asads in newspapers. In this case, action data might not be presentbecause the advertiser or advertising service might not be able to trackwhether a potential buyer purchased a product based on the newspaper ad.

Machine learning recommendation 606 may involve the use of themathematical algorithm of content clustering or k-means clustering.Clustering relates to grouping a set of objects such that objects in thesame group are more similar to each other than to those in other groups.Various models of clustering may include connectivity models, centroidmodels, distribution models, density models, subspace models, groupmodels, and graph-based models. Other models of clustering may exist.

As an illustrative example, the machine learning recommendation 606 mayapply k-means clustering. K-means clustering is particularly useful withlarge datasets, because the algorithm can take a large number of inputsand sort them into manageable clusters. However, the drawbacks ofk-means clustering include sensitivity to outliers and noise. K-meansclustering involves applying an iterative refinement technique to a dataset. The goal of the refinement technique is to search for, and assign,a data point to an appropriate cluster of data points with the nearestmean. For instance, the algorithm may take as inputs demographic dataabout a potential buyer, such as geographic location, gender, race, age,income, education, whether or not they have children, age of theirchildren, and gender of their children. The output of the algorithm maybe clusters or segments of potential buyers that have predictableproduct preferences. The refinement technique involves two steps, anassignment step and update step.

The assignment step involves assigning each new data point x_(p) to thecluster set S_(i) ^((t)) with the nearest mean in a set of k-means m₁^((t)) . . . m_(k) ^((t)). In this equation, t represents time—aniteration of the learning algorithm. To assign a data point, the machinecalculates the least within-cluster sum of squares (“WCSS”), illustratedby following equation:

S _(i) ^((t)) ={x _(p) :∥x _(p) −m _(i) ^((t))∥² ≤∥x _(p) −m _(j)^((t))∥²∀_(j),1≤j≤k}

In this equation, the WCSS of the new data point is the squaredEuclidean distance between x_(p) and the nearest mean. Thus, by applyingthis equation, the data point x_(p) is assigned to the cluster set S_(i)^((t)).

After assigning a data point to the cluster set with the nearest mean,the updating step is applied. The updating step involves calculating anew mean m_(i) ^((t+1)) to be the center of the cluster to which x_(p)was added. The updating step is illustrated by the following equation:

$m_{i}^{({t + 1})} = {\frac{1}{S_{i}^{(t)}}{\sum\limits_{x_{j} \in S_{i}^{(t)}}x_{j}}}$

The assignment and updating steps are repeated until all of the datapoints are assigned and the cluster centers are updated. The algorithmhas converged when the assignments of data points no longer change.While the recommendation engine 514 may apply k-means clustering, it mayapply other algorithms as indicated above.

Block 602 may involve determining whether to make predictions for aparticular set of potential buyers. This step may involve analyzing thepotential buyers for a direct mail advertising campaign and determiningwhether these potential buyers are new or previously existing potentialbuyers, and whether to make predictions for new potential buyers. Thepredictions may involve determining the likelihood of an ad beingeffective for one or more of the potential buyers. In one example, anadvertiser may desire to start a direct mail campaign to target newpotential buyers that do not have any previous relationship with theadvertiser. In this example, the recommendation engine 514 may makepredictions for the new buyers, since there is no previous transactiondata. In another example, an advertiser may desire to start a directmail campaign to target existing buyers. In such an example, therecommendation engine 514 might not need to make new predictions,because recommendation engine 514 may already have transaction dataassociated with these potential buyers.

If the recommendation engine 514 determines that new predictions are notto be made, the recommendation engine 514 may continue to block 604.However, if the recommendation engine 514 determines that newpredictions are to be made, the recommendation engine may select amachine learning recommendation 608. Machine learning recommendation 608may involve selecting a machine learning algorithm from a non-inclusivelist of: generalized additive models, gradient boosting machine,regression, and alternating least squares (“ALS”). Other machinelearning algorithms and methods are available. As an example, the ALSalgorithm may take as input a grid of all potential buyers, each productthe potential buyer has interacted with, and the strength of thatinteraction. The algorithm may output predictions about the hypotheticalstrength of interaction those potential buyers may have with productsthey have not yet seen. To accomplish this, the algorithm may makeinferences based on actions from other potential buyers that have beenpresented with those products and how the products relate to oneanother. ALS may be particularly useful when potential buyer datacontains many data points on product interaction but little data oncustomer demographics.

Block 604 may involve determining whether there is strong interactiondata from potential buyers. Strong interaction data may include apotential buyer providing a rating of a product (e.g., a potential buyerpurchasing a product and then leaving a 5/5 star review with theseller). This step relates to potential buyers' online actions whenpresented with certain online advertising campaigns, such as paid searchor display advertising. The recommendation engine 514 may retrieveinformation from the master schemas 512 relating to actions 510. If theinformation in actions 510 contains strong interaction data, therecommendation engine 514 may select a machine learning recommendation612. However, if the information in actions 510 does not contain stronginteraction data, the recommendation engine 514 may select a machinelearning recommendation 610.

For example, an advertiser may be conducting a display searchadvertising campaign. In this case, the advertiser or advertisingservice may have access to potential buyers' online actions 510 whenconfronted with particular ads. Online actions 510 may contain potentialbuyers' product ratings. The advertiser may then decide to start adirect mail advertising campaign. The advertising service may alreadyhave access to actions 510 if the advertising service is conducting thedisplay search advertising campaign. In this case, the recommendationengine 514 may determine that there is strong interaction data.

Machine learning recommendation 612 may include the algorithm forexplicit ALS. If the advertiser is not conducting a display advertisingcampaign and does not have actions 510 of potential buyers, then therecommendation engine 514 may select machine learning recommendation610. Machine learning recommendation 610 may include the algorithm forimplicit ALS.

Once recommendation engine 514 selects one of machine learningrecommendations 606, 608, 610, or 612, the corresponding algorithm takesthe content 500, proposed transactions 502, actual transactions 504,potential buyers 506, online behavior 508, and actions 610 from themaster schemas 512 and outputs a plurality of files relating torecommendations for offered products or services to the delivery service516. The delivery service 516 may transmit the plurality of files to aprinting system 518 using a communication system. The communicationsystem may use email, Secure File Transfer Protocol (“SFTP”), or someother mechanism.

C. Recommendation Delivery

FIG. 7 depicts a data model 700 for the plurality of files. The filesmay include a buyer ready file 702, recommendation file 704, productsfile 706, proposed transactions file 708, and messages file 710. Thedelivery service 516 may populate these files based on content 500 andthe output from recommendation engine 514. However, if there is noinformation sufficient to populate one of these files, the deliveryservice 516 may generate a blank file instead.

Buyer ready file 702 may contain a list of potential buyers. The buyerready file 702 may also contain buyer information such as a buyer Id,name, and address. The buyer Id may be a number associated with aparticular buyer and corresponds to the buyer Id in the recommendationfile 704 described below. The buyer ready file 702 may be in the form ofa spreadsheet, text file, XML, HTML, or database entries. Other fileformats are possible.

Recommendation file 704 may define a particular direct mail adconfiguration for potential buyers by combining the information from theother files received from recommendation engine 514 and outputting themto the printing service 518. The recommendation file 704 may alsocontain product Ids, Ids for proposed transactions, tracking Ids forproposed transactions, and/or message Ids that are being recommended foreach buyer. Product Ids, Ids for proposed transactions, and message Idsmay be numbers associated with a particular product, proposedtransaction, or message. Tracking Ids for proposed transactions mayrelate to a particular machine-readable code on the direct mail ad. Themachine-readable code may be a barcode, QR code, alphanumeric code, orimage based code. Other formats of machine-readable codes are possible.Tracking Ids for proposed transactions may allow an advertiser todetermine whether a particular point of sale scanned themachine-readable code associated with the direct mail ad, indicatingthat the direct mail ad was successful for a particular buyer.

The recommendation file 704 may include any combination of product Ids,proposed transaction Ids, proposed transaction tracking Ids, and/ormessage Ids. The recommendation file 704 may be represented by aJavaScript Object Novation (“JSON”). As an example, JavaScript code forthe recommendation schema is shown below. The lines in this piece ofcode are numbered for purpose of convenience.

1 { 2 “campaign”: { 3  “campaignID”: Integer. 4  “buyer”: {5    “buyerID”: “String”. 6    “product”: [{ Array. 7      “productId”:“String”, 8      “proposedTransaction”: { Array.9        “proposedTransactionId”: “String”,10        “proposedTransactionTrackingCode”: “String”}}],11    “proposedTransaction”: [{ Array. 12      “proposedTransactionId”:“String” 13      “proposedTransactionTrackingCode”: “String”]},14    “message”: [{ Array. 15      “messageId”: “String”,16      “messageTrackingCode”: “String”}]}}} 17 }

Lines 1 and 17 define a block encompassing the recommendation JSON.Lines 2-5 define the parameters of a recommendation for a direct mailcampaign object. A direct mail campaign object may be a particulardirect mail advertising campaign that an advertising service isproviding for an advertiser. Lines 3 and 4 indicate that the campaignobject includes a campaign Id and a buyer object. Lines 5, 6, 11, and 14specify that the buyer object includes variables for a buyer Id, aproduct, a proposed transaction, and a message. Lines 7 and 8 specifythat the product may have a product Id variable and proposed transactionassociated with a particular offered product or service. Lines 9 and 10specify that the proposed transaction may have a proposed transaction Idand proposed transaction tracking code associated with that proposedtransaction.

The proposed transaction at line 11 may be different than the proposedtransaction in line 8 that is associated with the product in line 6. Thetwo transaction arrays are different insofar as the proposed transactionarray in line 8 may be tied to a specific product, such as 20% off thatparticular product, while the proposed transaction array in line 11 maybe a campaign-wide proposed transaction, such as free shipping that canapply to multiple products. The proposed transaction array in line 11may have a proposed transaction Id and proposed transaction trackingcode associated with that proposed transaction. Further, the buyerobject in line 4 may have a message array associated with buyer, asindicated at line 14. The message array in line 14 may have a message Idand message tracking code associated with that message.

Products file 706 may contain a list of the advertiser's offeredproducts or services. For each product, the products file 706 may alsocontain information such as a product Id, image URLs, as well as otherrelevant data. The product Id in this file corresponds to the product Idin the recommendation JSON. In one example, products file 706 maycontain four products including a baseball bat, golf clubs, soccercleats, and a hockey stick. In this example, products file 706 may alsoinclude images associated with these products. The delivery service 516might only populate this file if there is a product recommendation.

Proposed transactions file 708 may contain a list of the advertiser'sproposed transactions. The proposed transactions file 708 may alsocontain proposed transaction information such as a proposed transactionId, proposed transaction amounts, as well as other relevant data. The Idfor the proposed transaction in this file corresponds to the proposedtransaction Id in the recommendation JSON. The proposed transactionsfile 708 may be tied to specific products, a particular buyer, or betied to all buyers and products.

In one example, an advertiser may desire to offer a potential buyer 20%off an in-store purchase. In this example, the advertiser may want toadd various proposed transaction descriptions to the ad, such as textincluding “20% off your entire purchase!” or “scan the barcode on thisad for 15% off!” In another example, the advertiser may desire to offerfree shipping on an online order. In this example, the advertiser maywant to add proposed transaction descriptions such as text including“Free shipping on your entire order!” or “Use offer code FREESHIP atcheckout for free shipping!” Other examples and proposed transactiondescriptions may exist. The delivery service 516 might only populatethis file if there is a proposed transaction recommendation.

Messages file 710 may contain a list of the advertiser's messages. Themessage file 710 may also contain message information such as a messageId, ad text, as well as other relevant data. The message Id in this filecorresponds to the message Id in the recommendation JSON. In oneexample, the message file 710 may include ad text such as “Bring this adto our store at 555 North Clark Street!” In this example, the advertisermay use message file 710 to direct a potential buyer to a preferredlocation.

In another example, the message file 710 may include ad text such as“Like us on social media for additional offers!” In this example, theadvertiser may use the message file 710 to increase its social mediapresence and drive traffic on its social media pages. Message file 710may also contain ad text targeting a particular demographic forpotential buyers. For example, message file 710 may contain ad text thatstates “Be a man, buy our cologne today.” This example may be designedto target the specific demographic of middle-aged men. In anotherexample, message file 710 for a designer purse ad may contain ad textstating “Be unique. Stand out in the crowd.” This example may bedesigned to target young females with a strong fashion sense. Any numberof examples and messages may exist.

D. Ad Population and Feedback

The printing system 518 may receive the recommendation file 704containing the recommendation JSON. As described above, therecommendation JSON may contain references to the products, proposedtransactions, and messages necessary to generate print ads. The printingsystem 518 may parse the recommendation file by extracting the variousproduct Ids, Ids for proposed transactions, and message Ids from therecommendation JSON. The printing system 518 may refer to the otherfiles of FIG. 7 to determine at least some of this information. Afterthe printing system 518 has obtained the Ids, it may populate the adswith the text and images that correspond to those Ids. The correspondingtext and images may be part of a separate file transfer between theadvertising service and printing system 518 or may be encompassed incontent 500 sent from the advertiser to the advertising service.

After populating the ads, the printing system 518 may send feedback tothe delivery system 516. The printing system 518 may send some feedbackbefore printing has occurred and some feedback after printing hasoccurred. The feedback may include a plurality of files, including afile receipt report, backfeed file, reject files, or an open jobs file.

The file receipt report may include a high level view of files received,the number of files processed by the printing system 518, and the numberof files rejected by the printing system 518 for each recommendationsent by delivery service 516. A file may be rejected if any of theinformation, such as an Id, is invalid. If a file is rejected, theprinting system 518 may attempt to reprocess the file, or skip it,depending on the advertiser's requirements. The advertiser may have aspecific threshold for the number of rejected files, which may bedetermined when the direct mail campaign begins. In that case, theprinting system 518 may notify the advertiser when the number ofrejected files eclipses the threshold amount. There may be one filereceipt report for every recommendation received from the deliveryservice 516.

The backfeed file may contain a status of each buyer for which machinerecommendation engine 514 has generated a recommendation. A particularbuyer's status may include whether the direct mail ad for thatparticular buyer has been processed, printed, or queued to print. Thismay be useful to track the status of a particular recommendation afterbeing sent to the printing system 518.

The reject files may contain records for each file the printing system518 has rejected. The printing system 518 may reject a file for notconforming to printing guidelines or not containing the requisiteinformation to generate a direct mail ad. There may be a reject file foreach file type described in FIG. 7. For instance, there may be arecommendation reject file, buyer reject file, product reject file,proposed transaction reject file, and message reject file.

The open jobs file may contain a high level report of the printingsystem 518's print jobs that are still open or not completed. This filemay be particularly useful in helping an advertiser keep track of thetotal amount of direct mail ads that still need to be printed. Forexample, the advertiser may be engaged in a direct mail ad campaign with100,000 potential buyers. Printing this number of direct mail ads maytake several days. The open jobs file may be helpful to the advertiserbecause it allows the advertiser to have a high-level view of how manyads have been printed and how many ads are queued to be printed.

E. Ad Layout

FIG. 8A depicts a front side of an example personalized direct mail ad800. The front side of personalized direct mail ad 800 may contain abackground image 802, a title 804, products 806, 808, 810, and 812, andinformation 814, 816, 818, and 820.

Background image 802 may be an image associated with a particulartemplate. There may be a pre-defined number of background imagesavailable for a particular template. These pre-defined images may beprovided by the advertiser or advertising service in the products file706, or in a separate file. In one example, an advertiser may want toadvertise golf equipment to a particular potential buyer that is femaleand a young adult. In this example, the recommendation engine 514 maydetermine that, out of the selection of pre-defined templates, an imagecontaining a female golfer may be more effective than an image relatingto men's baseball or football. Other examples and images may exist.

Title 804 may include a generic phrase tied to a particular template orbackground image. There may be a pre-defined number of titles associatedwith each template. These pre-defined titles may be provided by theadvertiser or advertising service in the messages file 710, or in aseparate file. In the golf equipment example above, the title 804 maystate “Get a hole in one this summer!” or “Improve your score!” Othertitles and examples may exist.

Products 806, 808, 810, and 812 may be selected by the recommendationengine 514. These products may be related to the background image 802 ortitle 804. These products may be provided by the recommendation engine514 in products file 706. In one example, an advertiser may want toadvertise women's golf clothing. Specifically, product 806 may be a pairof golf shoes, product 808 may be a hat, product 810 may be a pair ofgolf khakis, and product 812 may be a golf shirt.

Information 814, 816, 818, and 820 may relate to product information forproducts 806, 808, 810, and 812, respectively. Information 814, 816,818, and 820 may relate to a particular product's title, description,price, and if applicable, discounted price. This information may beprovided by the recommendation engine 514 in products file 706. In oneexample, an advertiser may be advertising women's golf accessories thatare on sale at a particular store. In this example, product 806 may be apink golf bag. Thus, information 814 may relate to the pink golf bag.Specifically, information 814 may contain text such as “Pink Golf CartBag,” “Normal price: $249.99,” and “Sale price: $199.99.” Anycombination of products and corresponding information are possible.

The elements in FIG. 8A may be customizable or non-customizabledepending on the advertiser's specific needs and goals. Specifically,the printing system 518 may populate the customizable fields dependingon the advertising recommendation from recommendation engine 514. Forexample, the advertiser may provide the advertising service with two ormore layouts relating to golf equipment. The two or more layouts may bepart of content 500. The two or more layouts may include a layout forgolf clubs, golf clothes, and golf balls. In this example, if therecommendation engine 514 determines that a particular potential buyerwould be interested in golf club related products, the recommendationengine 514 may send recommendations relating to golf clubs to theprinting system 518. The printing system 518, after receiving therecommendations, may populate the direct mail ad 800 with the golf clublayout, which may include a golf club background image 802, a golf clubtitle 804, golf club related products 806, 808, 810, and 812, and golfclub product information 814, 816, 818, and 820.

FIG. 8B depicts a reverse side of the personalized direct mail ad 800.This may include a proposed transaction 822, a product 824 withcorresponding information 826, a message 828, proposed transaction code830, background image and message 832, and address 834. These elementsmay be optional, depending on the advertiser's specific goals; otherpossible elements and element arrangements may exist.

Proposed transaction 822 may contain proposed transaction descriptions,and may correspond to the proposed transaction recommendation determinedby the recommendation engine 514. This proposed transaction 822 may beprovided by the recommendation engine 514 in proposed transactions file708. For example, if the advertiser desires to give all buyers freeshipping for a particular offered product or service, proposedtransaction 822 might contain ad text stating “Free shipping on yourentire order!” In another example, the advertiser may want to give aparticular buyer 20% off an entire order with an in-store purchase. Inthis example, the proposed transaction 822 may contain ad text stating“Bring in this mailer for 20% your entire order!” Other examples andproposed transactions may exist.

Product 824 and corresponding information 826 may be an additionalproduct that was not included on the front side of the direct mail ad800 in FIG. 8B. This product 824 and information 826 may be provided bythe recommendation engine 514 in products file 706. Product 824 andinformation 826 may also be a special product or service that theadvertiser wants to.

Message 828 may contain personalized ad text directed at a particularpotential buyer. Message 828 may correspond to the messagerecommendation determined by the recommendation engine 514. This message828 may be provided by the recommendation engine 514 in messages file710. For example, if the advertiser wants to direct a potential buyer toa retail store, message 828 may contain text stating “Bring this couponto your nearest store.” In another example, message 828 may be used totarget a particular potential buyer. In this example, message 828 maycontain text with the particular potential buyer's name. This message828 may make the particular potential buyer feel special, increasing thechance of a conversion. Any number of examples and messages exist.

Proposed transaction code 830 may contain a promotional code that apotential buyer could use either online or at a local store. Thisproposed transaction code 830 may be provided by the recommendationengine 514 in proposed transactions file 708. For example, proposedtransaction code 830 may be text containing a code, such as “FREESHIP”that can be used at an online store for free shipping. In anotherexample, the proposed transaction code 830 may be a barcode withaccompanying text. In this example, the text could state “Scan this codefor 20% off!” with a machine-readable code beneath it. Other examplesand proposed transaction codes exist.

Background image and message 832 may contain an image and messagerelating to the overall direct mail ad campaign or the targetedpotential buyer. Background image and message 832 may be provided by theadvertiser or advertising service in the products file 706, or in aseparate file. For example, background image and message 832 may containan image and corresponding ad text that may remain the same for allvariations of the direct mail ad 800. In this example, if the advertiserwants to sell golf equipment, the background image and message 832 maycontain an image of a golfer with accompanying ad text “Follow us onsocial media to enter our sweepstakes!” In this case, the samebackground image and message 832 would appear on every variation of thedirect mail ad. In another example, background image and message 832 maybe customizable and be related to a specific layout.

Address 834 may contain the particular potential buyer's name andaddress. Aspects of address 834 may be customizable or non-customizable.For instance, a return address portion of address 834 may benon-customizable and contain the advertiser's mailing address.Conversely, the buyer's name and address may be populated by theprinting system 518 based on the buyer ready file 702.

The elements in FIG. 8B may be customizable or non-customizabledepending on the advertiser's specific needs and goals. Specifically,the printing system 518 may populate the customizable fields dependingon the advertising recommendation from recommendation engine 514. Forexample, the advertiser may provide the advertising service with two ormore layouts relating to golf equipment. The two or more layouts mayinclude a layout for golf clubs, golf bags, or golf balls. In thisexample, if the recommendation engine 514 determines that a particularpotential buyer would be interested in golf ball related products, therecommendation engine 514 may send recommendations relating to golfballs to the printing system 518. The printing system 518, afterreceiving the recommendations, may populate the reverse side of thedirect mail ad 800 with the golf ball layout, which may include a golfball proposed transaction 822, a golf ball product 824 withcorresponding information 826, a golf ball message 828, proposedtransaction code 830, and background image and message 832. The address834 may be customizable but not related to the recommendation fromrecommendation engine 514.

4. EXAMPLE OPERATIONS

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment. The processillustrated by FIG. 9 may be carried out by a computing device, such ascomputing device 300, and/or a cluster of computing devices, such asserver cluster 404. However, the process can be carried out by othertypes of devices or device subsystems. For example, the process could becarried out by a portable computer, such as a laptop or a tablet device.

Block 900 may involve receiving input information related to an offeredproduct or service, two or more layouts of a print advertisement for theoffered product or service, demographics of potential buyers of theoffered product or service, and online behavior of the potential buyers.

Block 902 may involve normalizing the input information into apredefined schema for a machine-learning-based recommendation engineoperated by a computing device.

Block 904 may involve determining, by the machine-learning-basedrecommendation engine, respective selections of the two or more layoutsfor the potential buyers. The machine-learning-based recommendationengine may select a particular layout for a particular potential buyerbased on the offered product or service, content and organization of theparticular layout, demographics of the particular potential buyer, andonline behavior of the particular potential buyer.

Block 906 may involve transmitting, to a printing system, one or moreoutput files representing the offered product or service, the particularlayout, and the particular potential buyer. The reception of the one ormore output files by the printing system may cause the printing systemto print a mailable advertisement conforming to the particular layout,and the mailable advertisement may include a representation of theoffered product or service.

In some embodiments, the input information may also include respectivehistorical transactions or orders made by the potential buyers. Theparticular layout selected for the particular potential buyer may alsobe based on historical transactions or orders made by the particularpotential buyer.

In some embodiments, the input information may also include respectiveproposed transactions for the potential buyers. The particular layoutselected for the particular potential buyer may also be based on aparticular proposed transaction for the particular potential buyer. Theparticular proposed transaction may involve the offered product orservice.

In some embodiments, the demographics of the particular potential buyermay include age, gender, and geographic location of the particularpotential buyer.

In some embodiments, the one or more output files representing theoffered product or service include a buyer mail ready file,recommendation file, and products file. The buyer mail ready fileincludes a buyer identification number, a name, and a mailing address ofthe particular potential buyer. The recommendation file includes arecommendation for the offered product or service and the products fileincludes a product identification number and image associated with theoffered product or service.

In some embodiments, the one or more output files further include aproposed transaction file. The recommendation file may further include arecommendation for a particular proposed transaction for the particularpotential buyer. The proposed transaction file may include a proposedtransaction identification number and amount associated with theparticular proposed transaction.

In some embodiments, the one or more output files further include amessage file. The recommendation file may further include arecommendation for a particular message for the particular potentialbuyer. The message file includes a message identification number andadvertising text associated with the particular message.

Some embodiments further involve receiving feedback from the printingsystem relating to the one or more output files. The feedback mayinclude a file receipt report and an open jobs file. The file receiptreport may include information relating to a total amount of outputfiles received by the printing system, a status of the output filesreceived by the printing system, and a total amount of output filesrejected by the printing system. The open jobs file may include a reportof a total number of print jobs that are still pending.

In some embodiments, the determining, by the machine-learning-basedrecommendation engine, respective selections includes applying one ormore machine learning algorithms to the input information as normalized.The machine learning algorithms may use k-means clustering, alternatingleast squares, or regression.

In some embodiments, the particular layout may include non-customizableand customizable fields. The printing system may populate thecustomizable fields with a representation of the offered product orservice, a particular proposed transaction, or a particular messagerelating to the offered product or service. The particular message maybe based on the demographics of the particular potential buyer.

The embodiments of FIG. 9 may be simplified by the removal of any one ormore of the features shown therein. Further, these embodiments may becombined with features, aspects, and/or implementations of any of theprevious figures or otherwise described herein.

5. CONCLUSION

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particularembodiments described in this application, which are intended asillustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations canbe made without departing from its scope, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuseswithin the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumeratedherein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoingdescriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

The above detailed description describes various features and functionsof the disclosed systems, devices, and methods with reference to theaccompanying figures. The example embodiments described herein and inthe figures are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments can beutilized, and other changes can be made, without departing from thescope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readilyunderstood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generallydescribed herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged,substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety ofdifferent configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplatedherein.

With respect to any or all of the message flow diagrams, scenarios, andflow charts in the figures and as discussed herein, each step, block,and/or communication can represent a processing of information and/or atransmission of information in accordance with example embodiments.Alternative embodiments are included within the scope of these exampleembodiments. In these alternative embodiments, for example, functionsdescribed as steps, blocks, transmissions, communications, requests,responses, and/or messages can be executed out of order from that shownor discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order,depending on the functionality involved. Further, more or fewer blocksand/or functions can be used with any of the ladder diagrams, scenarios,and flow charts discussed herein, and these ladder diagrams, scenarios,and flow charts can be combined with one another, in part or in whole.

A step or block that represents a processing of information cancorrespond to circuitry that can be configured to perform the specificlogical functions of a herein-described method or technique.Alternatively or additionally, a step or block that represents aprocessing of information can correspond to a module, a segment, or aportion of program code (including related data). The program code caninclude one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or actions in the method ortechnique. The program code and/or related data can be stored on anytype of computer readable medium such as a storage device including adisk, hard drive, or other storage medium.

The computer readable medium can also include non-transitory computerreadable media such as computer-readable media that store data for shortperiods of time like register memory, processor cache, and random accessmemory (RAM). The computer readable media can also includenon-transitory computer readable media that store program code and/ordata for longer periods of time. Thus, the computer readable media mayinclude secondary or persistent long term storage, like read only memory(ROM), optical or magnetic disks, compact-disc read only memory(CD-ROM), for example. The computer readable media can also be any othervolatile or non-volatile storage systems. A computer readable medium canbe considered a computer readable storage medium, for example, or atangible storage device.

Moreover, a step or block that represents one or more informationtransmissions can correspond to information transmissions betweensoftware and/or hardware modules in the same physical device. However,other information transmissions can be between software modules and/orhardware modules in different physical devices.

The particular arrangements shown in the figures should not be viewed aslimiting. It should be understood that other embodiments can includemore or less of each element shown in a given figure. Further, some ofthe illustrated elements can be combined or omitted. Yet further, anexample embodiment can include elements that are not illustrated in thefigures.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purpose ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopebeing indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a computingdevice, input information related to an offered product or service, twoor more layouts of printable content related to the offered product orservice, demographics of potential recipients, and actions taken by thepotential recipients when presented with online content; based on theinput information, determining, by the computing device, a selection ofa particular layout from the two or more layouts that is for aparticular recipient of the potential recipients; and transmitting oneor more output files representing the offered product or service, theparticular layout, and the particular recipient, wherein reception ofthe one or more output files can be used by a printing system to print amailable physical document addressed to the particular recipient,conforming to the particular layout, and including a representation ofthe offered product or service.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theactions taken by the potential recipients when presented with the onlinecontent comprise actions taken in response to viewing an onlineadvertisement.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the actions taken bythe potential recipients when presented with the online content compriseviewing a web page related to an offering multiple times beforepurchasing that offering.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the actionstaken by the potential recipients when presented with the online contentrelate to search histories or web traffic of the potential recipients.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the input information also includeshistorical transactions or orders made by the potential recipients, andwherein the particular layout is also based on the historicaltransactions or orders.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the inputinformation also includes proposed transactions for the potentialrecipients, wherein the particular layout incorporates a particularproposed transaction for the particular recipient that involves theoffered product or service.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thedemographics of the potential recipients comprise ages, genders, orgeographic locations of the potential recipients.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein the one or more output files representing the offered productor service comprise a mail ready file, a recommendation file, and aproducts file, wherein the mail ready file comprises a recipientidentification number, a name, and a mailing address of the particularrecipient, wherein the recommendation file comprises a recommendationfor the offered product or service, and wherein the products filecomprises a product identification number and an image associated withthe offered product or service.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein theone or more output files further comprise a proposed transaction file,wherein the recommendation file further comprises a recommendation for aparticular proposed transaction for the particular recipient, andwherein the proposed transaction file comprises a proposed transactionidentification number associated with the particular proposedtransaction.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more outputfiles further comprise a message file, wherein the recommendation filefurther comprises a recommendation for a particular message for theparticular recipient, and wherein the message file comprises a messageidentification number and text associated with the particular message.11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving feedback fromthe printing system relating to the one or more output files, whereinthe feedback comprises a file receipt report and an open jobs file,wherein the file receipt report comprises information relating to atotal amount of the output files received by the printing system, astatus of the output files received by the printing system, and a totalamount of the output files rejected by the printing system, and whereinthe open jobs file comprises a report of a total number of print jobsthat are still pending.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein determiningthe selection of the particular layout comprises: choosing amachine-learning-based recommendation engine based on whether (i)actions taken by the potential recipients are related to the offeredproduct or service, (ii) predictions regarding effectiveness ofadvertising the offered product or service to the potential recipientsare to be made, or (iii) interaction data exists between the potentialrecipients and the offered product or service; and determining, by themachine-learning-based recommendation engine, the selection of theparticular layout.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein themachine-learning-based recommendation engine is chosen to be based on aclustering algorithm when the actions taken by the potential recipientsrelated to the offered product or service are not available.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the machine-learning-based recommendationengine is chosen to be based on generalized additive models, gradientboosting machines, regression, or alternative least squares whenpredictions regarding the effectiveness of advertising the offeredproduct or service to the potential recipients are to be made.
 15. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the machine-learning-based recommendationengine is chosen to be based on explicit alternating least squares whenany interaction data that exists between the potential recipients andthe offered product or service is below a threshold degree of strength.16. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular layout comprisesnon-customizable fields and customizable fields, wherein the printingsystem populates the customizable fields with a representation of theoffered product or service, a proposed transaction, or a messagerelating to the offered product or service, and wherein the message isbased on the demographics of the particular recipient.
 17. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereininstructions executable by a processor to cause a computing device toperform operations comprising: receiving input information related to anoffered product or service, two or more layouts of printable contentrelated to the offered product or service, demographics of potentialrecipients, and actions taken by the potential recipients when presentedwith online content; based on the input information, determining aselection of a particular layout from the two or more layouts that isfor a particular recipient of the potential recipients; and transmittingone or more output files representing the offered product or service,the particular layout, and the particular recipient, wherein receptionof the one or more output files can be used by a printing system toprint a mailable physical document addressed to the particularrecipient, conforming to the particular layout, and including arepresentation of the offered product or service.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operations furthercomprise: receiving feedback from the printing system relating to theone or more output files, wherein the feedback comprises a file receiptreport and an open jobs file, wherein the file receipt report comprisesinformation relating to a total amount of the output files received bythe printing system, a status of the output files received by theprinting system, and a total amount of the output files rejected by theprinting system, and wherein the open jobs file comprises a report of atotal number of print jobs that are still pending.
 19. A computingdevice comprising: a processor; memory; and program instructions, storedin the memory, that upon execution by the processor cause the computingdevice to perform operations comprising: receiving input informationrelated to an offered product or service, two or more layouts ofprintable content related to the offered product or service,demographics of potential recipients, and actions taken by the potentialrecipients when presented with online content; based on the inputinformation, determining a selection of a particular layout from the twoor more layouts that is for a particular recipient of the potentialrecipients; and transmitting one or more output files representing theoffered product or service, the particular layout, and the particularrecipient, wherein reception of the one or more output files can be usedby a printing system to print a mailable physical document addressed tothe particular recipient, conforming to the particular layout, andincluding a representation of the offered product or service.
 20. Thecomputing device of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:receiving feedback from the printing system relating to the one or moreoutput files, wherein the feedback comprises a file receipt report andan open jobs file, wherein the file receipt report comprises informationrelating to a total amount of the output files received by the printingsystem, a status of the output files received by the printing system,and a total amount of the output files rejected by the printing system,and wherein the open jobs file comprises a report of a total number ofprint jobs that are still pending.